The 5-Minute Screening Echocardiogram for Athletes

Abstract

Echocardiography is an accurate way to identify common cardiac abnormalities that lead to sudden death. We report a screening echocardiogram protocol incorporated into the routine athletic medical assessment for all incoming college freshman athletes. A limited 2-dimensional echocardiogram was performed on athletes as part of a routine sports physical examination. The examination was performed by sonographers and senior cardiovascular medicine fellows and interpreted in real time by cardiologists using a 1-page checklist. No images were recorded. Of the 395 athletes representing 14 sports, 192 were female. The limited 2-dimensional echocardiogram took approximately 5 minutes per athlete. The majority of studies revealed normal findings (84%). A total of 55 had minor abnormalities not requiring follow-up. Five had abnormalities requiring a full echocardiogram and consultation with a cardiologist. This study demonstrates that a rapid screening echocardiogram is feasible and can be incorporated into the routine athletic medical examination for incoming varsity athletes.